Sorry We Don’t Help Darkies

A tragic episode of racism in 50s London.

A Caribbean family is under attack during the London race riots. We’re in England, in 1958, and racial hatred is at its peak: even the police refuse to help the victims. Masterfully acted, this drama is a social commentary on what was going on in the UK back in the day. The mise-en-scène, characterized by a certain theatricality, is well calibrated and perfectly builds up the tension leading to the moment of the attack. An entire family is abandoned and left alone in sorrow and desperation, far from their motherland, strangers in a strange land, in an indifferent England, incredibly hostile towards those it has abused, violated and subdued.